Arctic warming produces biological winners (whales) and losers (polar bears). This article …
Arctic warming produces biological winners (whales) and losers (polar bears). This article explains why they are impacted differently and includes supplemental images. This lesson is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.
In this resource, students play a climate resilience game and then explore …
In this resource, students play a climate resilience game and then explore the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 5th Assessment Report to learn more about how climate scientists handle uncertainty in models.
This series of four animations shows how some of the key indicators …
This series of four animations shows how some of the key indicators of climate change (average global temperature, sea level, sea ice extent, carbon emissions) have changed in Earth's recent history.
In this activity, students work with climate data from the tropical Pacific …
In this activity, students work with climate data from the tropical Pacific Ocean to understand how sea-surface temperature and atmospheric pressure affect precipitation in the tropical Pacific in a case study format.
In this activity, students examine climate variability in the North Atlantic associated …
In this activity, students examine climate variability in the North Atlantic associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NOA) in a case study format.
In this scenario-based, problem-based learning (PBL) activity, students investigate cloud formation, cloud …
In this scenario-based, problem-based learning (PBL) activity, students investigate cloud formation, cloud classification, and the role of clouds in heating and cooling the Earth; how to interpret TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) images and data; and the role clouds play in the Earth’s radiant budget and climate. Students assume the role of weather interns in a state climatology office and assist a frustrated student in a homework assignment. Learning is supported by a cloud in a bottle and an ice-albedo demonstration, a three-day cloud monitoring outdoor activity, and student journal assignments. The hands-on activities require two 2-liter soda bottles, an infrared heat lamp, and two thermometers. The resource includes a teacher's guide, questions and answer key, assessment rubric, glossary, and an appendix with information supporting PBL in the classroom.
The students are given the following: Read the articles below about erosion …
The students are given the following:
Read the articles below about erosion along the Lake Erie shoreline and discuss them. What causes the erosion? What can be done to prevent erosion? Should people be allowed to build structures to protect their property from erosion? Should people be allowed to live along the shoreline in high erosion areas?
Students are expected to have completed the coastal erosion module (read text book, view powerpoint lecture and take a quiz) and read articles regarding coastal erosion along the Lake Erie coastline. In the online discussion, students must show that they understand coastal processes, the impact of man made structures on coastal processes, and can apply their values as they discuss what should be done, if anything, to reduce the impact of coastal erosion. Teaching Tips Adaptations that allow this activity to be successful in an online environment This was designed as an online activity. I have also used it in face-to-face courses (students participate in online discussion prior to in-class discussion). Elements of this activity that are most effective This gets students thinking about how what they learn in class can be used to solve real problems faced by the local community and/or the world. Although some students propose impractical solutions, they are at least thinking. Recommendations for other faculty adapting this activity to their own course: Find local issues and/or global issues that show how geology can be used to solve problems.
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Most students understand that water quality is an important issue, however many …
Most students understand that water quality is an important issue, however many do not understand the complexity associated with the processes involved, the complex nature of estuarine systems, or the fact that management decisions are made based on available data sets that can be difficult at best to interpret. Students will be provided nutrient data in Excel for two Texas estuaries which they will supplement with additional information that they have compiled on these two estuaries during the duration of the course through a GIS database available to the entire class. Furthermore, students will retrieve information from the WWW to learn more about the specific estuaries and the nutrients of interest and their impacts on the environment.
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This is a semester-long research project that I use to provide students …
This is a semester-long research project that I use to provide students with the opportunity to design a class-wide collaborative research project in connection with a local community partner.
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The Colorado Science and Engineering Fair is the premier STEM education experience …
The Colorado Science and Engineering Fair is the premier STEM education experience in Colorado. It is hosted by the College of Natural Sciences Education and Outreach Center at Colorado State University each year in early April. For more information visit: https://www.cns-eoc.colostate.edu/science-fair/
The Colorado Science and Engineering Fair is the premier STEM education experience …
The Colorado Science and Engineering Fair is the premier STEM education experience in Colorado. It is hosted by the College of Natural Sciences Education and Outreach Center at Colorado State University each year in early April. For more information visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwqSL6z6_NY&list=PLJ_83ppVw-aQ2yQeuVBBxbd09vU4m6LAm&index=6
This video highlights a variety of climate change research initiatives from scientists …
This video highlights a variety of climate change research initiatives from scientists at the University of Colorado, Boulder. It describes the changing dynamics of Antarctic ice sheets and the impacts of reduced Arctic sea ice. The video illustrates the excitement of this research through interviews and video clips of scientists in the field.
In this video, Jonathan explores how animals in the ocean use color, …
In this video, Jonathan explores how animals in the ocean use color, not just for camouflage, but to stand out. Please see the accompanying lesson plan for educational objectives, discussion points and classroom activities.
In this activity students synthesize ideas from lecture, reading, and viewing two …
In this activity students synthesize ideas from lecture, reading, and viewing two PBS NOVA videos on hurricanes.
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This well-designed experiment compares CO2 impacts on salt water and fresh water. …
This well-designed experiment compares CO2 impacts on salt water and fresh water. In a short demonstration, students examine how distilled water (i.e., pure water without any dissolved ions or compounds) and seawater are affected differently by increasing carbon dioxide in the air.
Conceptests are single item multiple choice questions given in the middle of …
Conceptests are single item multiple choice questions given in the middle of a lecture to assess students' learning of basic concepts. Because Conceptests are projected during class, it is relatively easy to include snippets of data. Students' understanding of the target concepts can then be assessed based on how well they interpret the data rather than how well they answer verbal questions. The Conceptests on this website use bathymetric data from mid-ocean ridges (MOR's) and test students' understanding of MOR volcanism, plate motion direction, seafloor aging, and sedimentation.
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This activity represents a culmination project for this unit by means of …
This activity represents a culmination project for this unit by means of which students can assess whether the IPCC prediction of increased storminess as an outcome of global warming survives testing. For the previous three weeks students will have conducted several inquiry-based group activities designed to introduce and reinforce fundamental meteorology/climatology concepts. In this 2-day project, students access online AVHRR SST imagery, as well as tabulated numeric data regarding historical North American tropical cyclones, import data into Excel for interpretation and analysis, and submit two group reports.
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This laboratory activity takes place in a computer lab that is equipped …
This laboratory activity takes place in a computer lab that is equipped with ArcGIS (we are currently using ArcGIS 9.3). Students will go to NASA's oil spill gallery website and download the full size image of the Deepwater Horizon oil slick from July 14th, 2010 taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite at 1:55 p.m. Central Daylight Time. Their task is to to analyze the satellite imagery as an RGB composite and to experiment with reclassification techniques to subdivide the continuous raster dataset into user-defined numbers of ranges that will help visualize the oil spill. The activity introduces students to GIS software, remote sensing analysis, and sets up questions on spatial patterns and consequences of energy use.
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To prepare for this lab, students read a section of the textbook …
To prepare for this lab, students read a section of the textbook about observational techniques to measure the seafloor bathymetry as well as the occurrence of common sea floor features, such as seamounts, coastal shelves, mid-ocean ridges, and trenches. In the first lab, groups of students are provided with a bathymetric map, cutting board, sharp edges, and plenty of cardboard. They trace some contours from the map onto tracing paper, and then cut those out of the cardboard to construct a scale model of their given sea floor feature. They attach the sheets of cardboard with double-sided tape, and affix it to the bottom of a rigid box. The box lid has a grid of holes drilled into it. They determine the scale of the map (cm of the model to km in the ocean, for example), and affix the scale to the outside of the box. This concludes the first lab session.
In the second lab session, each team of students is provided with a box from an unknown team. The box is closed, and they do not know what ocean feature lay inside. They use bamboo skewers to take "soundings" at each of the drilled holes in the box lid, and mark their measurements on a piece of graph paper. Then they construct a contour map from the soundings, and try to identify the sea floor feature in the box from a global seafloor topography map that is hanging on a wall.
Students complete guided questions about the process of constructing their 3D scaled model and exploring the unknown ocean.
Contaminación de Plancton a Plástico Equipo STEM. El Centro de Extensión y …
Contaminación de Plancton a Plástico Equipo STEM. El Centro de Extensión y Educación en Ciencias Naturales colabora con la facultad de CSU, los Parques Nacionales y los programas de ciencia ciudadana para traducir su investigación científica actual en experiencias STEM únicas para los estudiantes en forma de kits educativos que se pueden prestar. Cada kit contiene casi todos los materiales necesarios (menos cosas comunes como agua y toallas de papel) para explorar algunos temas de investigación científica realmente interesantes enviando un formulario de recogida local o un formulario de entrega disponible en el sitio web vinculado. Utilice la información de contacto en la página de descripción general del kit STEM para obtener más información. https://www.cns-eoc.colostate.edu/stem-kits/ Este kit se proporciona de forma gratuita para uso educativo.
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